NEW YORK — Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) in partnership with the New York State Attorney General today announced the selection of ten municipalities and counties to participate in the New York State Anti-Displacement Learning Network. Broome County, City of Buffalo, City of Elmira, City of Hudson, City of Ithaca, City of Kingston, City of Newburgh, City of Rochester, City of Syracuse, and New York City were selected to participate in the program. Over the course of up to two years, participants will receive peer learning opportunities, one-on-one technical support, and up to $25,000 in funding. The program will also offer up to $10 million in additional grants to implement high-impact strategies locally. All resources will aid the selected municipalities and counties in strengthening their work to reduce or prevent displacement in their communities. 

“Residents and local leaders have the greatest understanding of how displacement and related issues impact their neighborhoods,” said Judi Kende, vice president and New York market leader, Enterprise Community Partners. “We are happy to work with the Attorney General’s office to provide communities with the resources they need to create and implement thoughtfully designed strategies so that residents can remain in their neighborhoods.”

Resident displacement is a major factor in community destabilization across the state. It is the result of a variety of factors including but not limited to discriminatory housing policies and home health hazards. Displacement disproportionately harms low-income communities and people of color, causing increased poverty, economic immobility, and weakened cultural ties and support networks. Additionally, patterns of re-segregation may emerge in the wake of displacement, furthering racial and economic inequity.

“When longtime residents are squeezed out of their homes where they have built their lives, their whole community and family suffers,” said New York State Attorney General Letitia James. “Resident displacement is a vexing issue and one that requires the best thinking from all leaders across this state. We are grateful for the support of Enterprise Community Partners in this endeavor and are hopeful about the thoughtful work that this new learning community will undertake in the year ahead.”

The New York State Anti-Displacement Learning Network will give local elected officials, leaders, and partners the opportunity to work collaboratively with local stakeholders to identify and implement high-impact anti-displacement strategies targeting the State’s most vulnerable populations. Additionally, participants will be given the human, educational, and financial resources necessary to execute their plans. Successful outcomes of the program will foster community stabilization and allow residents to remain in their homes. 

“From public health to community wealth, displacement creates generations of inequity for American communities,” said Dr. Akilah Watkins-Butler, President and CEO of Center for Community Progress. “We commend the ongoing work in New York to fight this important issue and are excited to collaborate with our partners nationally and on the ground to help develop effective resident-inclusive community solutions.”

“The legacy of racially discriminatory housing policy, combined with market activity that puts profits above people, is fueling a displacement crisis for low-income people and people of color around the country. As leaders in their communities, the participants in this network are committing to taking action—public policies and programs both inside and outside of local government—to reverse displacement and create the conditions for communities to thrive,” said Michael McAfee, President and CEO, PolicyLink.

Enterprise is working alongside the Attorney General’s office as well as PolicyLink and the Center for Community Progress to manage the program implementation process.

The first phase of the program, a three-month learning exchange, is scheduled to begin in January 2020. All phases of the program are expected to be completed by December 2021.

About Enterprise
Enterprise works with partners nationwide to build opportunity. We bring together the nationwide know-how, partners, policy leadership and investments to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Over more than 35 years, Enterprise has created nearly 585,000 homes, invested $43.6 billion and touched millions of lives. Join us at www.EnterpriseCommunity.org.

About the Center for Community Progress
Founded in 2010, the Center for Community Progress is the national leader for building strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods. Today, Community Progress has affected change in more than 48 states and seven countries through leadership education and collaborative systems, policy, and practice reforms. Simply, we work to transform “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.” 

PolicyLink
PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity by Lifting Up What Works®.